MANILA, Philippines - The government
will bid out next month the Roxas Boulevard Park Redevelopment Project intended
to transform parts of the area into a commercial strip, a top Department of
Tourism (DOT) official said.

“The Department of Public Works and
Highways (DPWH) will hold the bidding process by September,” Tourism Secretary
Ramon Jimenez Jr. said.

He said the DPWH and the DOT are also
in the process of finalizing the project cost.

“Full budget is not yet finalized. We
have yet to bid it out in September,” he said, noting the DPWH would release
the cost of the project.

Last week, the two agencies unveiled
plans to redevelop Roxas Blvd. into a park complex by 2015.

Based on the plan, the government
wants to increase accessibility of Roxas Blvd. to pedestrians and bikers, as
well as widen the “green” space in the area.

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“The Roxas Blvd. Park Redevelopment
project is a convergence between National Government agencies, local government
units and the private sector. This is not just a beautification project,”
Jimenez said.

The program, he said, would
re-establish the importance of Manila as a capital city and enhance the value
of property all over the district that it crosses.

“This is a business plan aimed at
restoring and enhancing Manila as a viable capital for tourism and business,”
Jimenez added.

The redevelopment would involve the
improvement of the 7.6-kilometer Roxas Blvd. that stretches from Ermita in
Manila to Parañaque City.

Specifically, the park project that
spans almost eight kilometers and the three cities of Manila, Pasay and
Parañaque will begin with cleaning debris from previous redevelopments,
hardscape and softscape improvements, soil replacement, and planting of endemic
greeneries.

The project will also involve paving
pedestrian walkways and bike lanes, transforming a segment of the road into a
commercial strip to spur economic activity in one of the most important and
historic thoroughfaresin the country.

Paulo Alcazaren, lead architect of PGAA
Creative Design who serves as government’s consultant for the project,
highlighted some economic and tourism benefits of revitalizing Roxas Blvd.

These include an increase in property
values along the improved Roxas Blvd. Park by five to 10 percent in two to five
years,and about 10 to 15 percent after
three years; improved traffic and circulation in surrounding districts; more
customers and tourists to the districts’ commercial establishments; and a new
face of Metro Manila as the capital of the Philippines.

Alcazaren also cited Alicante
Esplanade in Spain, Champs Élysées in France, Orchard Road in Singapore and
Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington D.C. as some of the best practices and
inspiration for streetscape improvement.

Alcazaren’s group was responsible for
the increased pedestrian walkability along Ayala Ave. in Makati’s central
business district, Iloilo River Esplanade in Iloilo City, and other numerous
park projects in Southeast Asia including Singapore and Malaysia.

The creation of a shopping street in
the Roxas Blvd. Park aims to broaden the revenue impact of the place, as well
as increase the value of property in the area.

“We envision the current Roxas Blvd.
Park service roads to be a commercial or shopping road. We want to convert the
service roads as an events place and strip of night cafes. We are also thinking
of creating something like that in Makati-Ayala CBD where owners of commercial
establishments themselves have put together an organization just to help in the
preparation and enforcement of rules because they are the ones affected,” DPWH
Secretary Rogelio Singson said.

Jimenez and Singson both appealed to
stakeholders in the private sector to support the project to maximize the
business impact along the boulevard.

There will also be a series of
meetings and consultations with local government units concerned to hammer down
solutions to possible common problems in the area such as security, billboards,
illegal and ambulant vendors.

“The most successful tourist
destinations in the country are the ones with highly participatory and
collaborative local government and private sector,” Jimenez said.